The idyllic, alpine Switzerland is located in Central Europe, bordered by France, Germany, Italy, Austria, and Lichtenstein. Although it's usually associated with the Alps, it also inhabits the Swiss Plateau and Jura Mts. With this varying topography, the climate varies as well, albeit it's temperate characteristics. Switzerland is a federation with 26 cantons and a capital in Berne.It adopted its constitution with a direct democracy in 1848.
The National Council and the Council of States is overseen by the President of the Confederation, who is elected every year. Although Switzerland is located in Central Europe, it is not part of the European Union and therefore keeping its Swiss Franc as currency. It only joined the United Nations in 2002. Known for its financial and banking strength, boosting its economy, Switzerland also has military neutrality, and is considered to be one of the top recyclers in the world.
The Swiss culture is heavily influenced by the surrounding neighbors, which results in four national languages, French, German, Italian, and Romansh. The influence is also presented in its cuisine. With Switzerland being a mountainous region, it offers cool white skiing slopes in the winter and beautiful serene nature and hiking trails in the summer.
Quick Facts
Population: 7,655,628
Capital: Bern
Per-capita GDP: $ 43900
Size: 41,277 km2
Time Zone: (GMT + 01:00 hour) Brussels, Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris
Country information is adapted from public domain resources including the CIA World Fact Book and www.Wikipedia.org.
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